Just get a used 8800GTX off ebay or on here for cheap so you can try the Physx hack thingy out.
8800GTX is ok,it has 128 cuda cores as opposed to the 9600GT having only 64 cuda cores.

EDIT:

No,if using an AMD card to render and Nvidia for Physx then you would usually run the Physx Mod patch.
Its a simple to use tiny file that you run-takes seconds and enables you to use the Nvidia card for Physx without the need to connect to a 2nd monitor or use a dummy plug.

Read THIS thread for more info and for help with the Physx Mod patch,you will also find the link to the patch download itself.

Think I covered what all he needs to download and where to get it all already superj. Look up a few posts.

I came into this thread on a whim, only to find I had mine set up wrong! Well, I almost had it but after tweaking some things from your guide its working perfect now. Thanks a bunch, Canis-X. Rep'd you for this.

Speaking from experience now, a GTS250 is not enough to handle newer games if you want >30fps. Mafia 2 averages 28fps with my HD5830 and GTS250 as PhysX, a ~12fps loss from running just my HD5830.

I put my nVidia card up for sale last week because I was disappointed with its performance and literally just now someone inquires about it... oh decisions.

I came into this thread on a whim, only to find I had mine set up wrong! Well, I almost had it but after tweaking some things from your guide its working perfect now. Thanks a bunch, Canis-X. Rep'd you for this.

Speaking from experience now, a GTS250 is not enough to handle newer games if you want >30fps. Mafia 2 averages 28fps with my HD5830 and GTS250 as PhysX, a ~12fps loss from running just my HD5830.

I put my nVidia card up for sale last week because I was disappointed with its performance and literally just now someone inquires about it... oh decisions.

You're welcome, glad to be of assistance!! FYI, it may be possible to use even newer versions of NVidia drivers and PhysX software, I only listed the ones that I did because the Hybrid PhysX Mod engineer certified them. With the correct installation/cofiguration knowledge in-hand, please feel free to test and see if newer versions are functional or not and if they provide any performance enhancements.

Thanks for the rep!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMC

I came across this thread after thinking about what to do with my 9800GT. Thanks Canis for the links and info.

Damn MrAdam....it got worse? I am running a 4870 right now and after playing Mafia 2 today I was wondering if I could put my 9800GT to use......decisions decisions.....

Don't mean to hijack this but can I put the 9800GT in my first PCIE slot and the 4870 in the second? It will help with cooling the 4870.

From experiences with my own hardware, I would say no. Will it work, yes, but on the hardware that I have worked with I noticed that I get no display at all until my OS is loaded up running in this configuration. You should always have the card that your displays are connected to in the first PCI slot so that you can monitor your boot up progression as well as being able to get into the BIOS if needed, the alternative boot option menu (i.e. safe mode) and your RAID BIOS if you run in a RAID environment.

Damn MrAdam....it got worse? I am running a 4870 right now and after playing Mafia 2 today I was wondering if I could put my 9800GT to use......decisions decisions.....

It could be possible it will run closer to what you normally get (or better) with your set up. My theory is that in a hybrid setup, the PhysX card needs to be fairly close to the main card otherwise you get a bottleneck; the PhysX card slows down the main card.

I remember seeing some benchmarks where someone took a GTX570 and paired it with a GTX460 as PhysX and it performed worse than the 570 alone. I think those were the cards, but either way that's what it boiled down to.